Habs’ Eller joins early list of NHL scoring leaders

The last time a Canadiens player won the Art Ross Trophy was 1977-78 when Guy Lafleur won his third straight NHL scoring title with 60-72-132 totals. The last time a Canadiens player finished in the top 10 in NHL scoring was 1985-86, when Mats Naslund had 43-67-110 totals to finish eighth.

The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in both of those seasons.

Sure, it’s VERY early in the season, but it was interesting to look at the NHL scoring leaders following Saturday’s games and see the Canadiens’ Lars Eller at No. 3 with 3-2-5 totals in two games. The only two players ahead of Eller, Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (4-2-6) and Mikhail Grabovski (3-2-5), had both played one more game than Eller.

Eller’s linemates Alex Galchenyuk (0-4-4) and Brendan Gallagher (2-1-3) are also off to good starts.

“I’m not surprised by the way we’re playing, but I didn’t expect we’d be scoring two or three goals a game,” Eller said after Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Centre. “Some games the pucks are going to go in. You can’t expect that every game, but good things are going to happen to us if we play that way.”

The Canadiens had the day off Sunday. They will practise Monday morning in Brossard before heading to Calgary for the start of a four-game road trip on Wednesday.

558 Comments

You’re being entirely too reasonable about this. I’m a fan of the Montreal Canadiens, and will cheer and boo accordingly. Vincent Lecavalier chose to turn up his nose at my boyhood team, chose to not seize the day and be A Story. He could have been a Legend, he chose to be moderately richer and unremarkable. Well I’ll exercise my right to be heard accordingly.

You ask if I’d be angry if he signed with the Rangers or the Bruins. I’d be livid if he’d signed in Boston, much more neutral if he’d signed in New York. That’s precisely the point. He went with the Philadelphia Flyers. I thought he was a phenomenal player who landed in Tampa Bay because of the system, and proved to be a dedicated player once there, making a home and being a great representative of the game.

When he was in the Finals against Calgary, I cheered on the Lightning, to the consternation of friends and coworkers who thought I should support the Canadian team. I cheered for Vincent and Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards. And I never begrudged him the fact that he wanted to stay in Tampa, if he’d malingered or extorted his way out of town, that would have been a blight on his record.

But that he became a free agent, and chose to sign with our mortal enemies, with the team that exemplifies all that is wrong with the NHL, from the owner on down, I will take that personally, and will hold him accountable in my own small way.

He didn’t P.A. Parenteau it. The latter said he wanted to get an offer from the Canadiens, but they didn’t call so he went with the Avalanche. Marc Bergevin quibbled on that, so we know that the story is essentially true. That summer, they were interested in Brandon Prust, they visited him at home on July 1 to convince him to sign here. So Mr. Parenteau doesn’t earn my scorn, he’ll be on my fantasy team when possible.

As far as Daniel Brière, I’m on the record as questioning that move, with or without the presence of Vincent Lecavalier on our roster.

@ rhino514:

You say that the questions the journos were asking Vincent Lecavalier were ‘trap questions’, unfair ones, since he had nothing he could answer truthfully without offending us. I understand that, I believe that’s why he feebly tried to motivate his decision otherwise by obliquely claiming to be a big Eagles fan. The thing is though, the reporters’ job is to not assume anything, to ask the questions, rely on the 5 W’s, and allow the subject to give their side of the story, to be heard on the matter. So if they go in and don’t ask the ‘tough’ or even “unfair” questions (“Mr. Wiener, can you tell us if that picture is of you or someone else?…”), they’re actually presuming that the subject is ‘guilty’, that he doesn’t have any worthwhile reasons or answers to offer.

When a supervisor or manager invites an employee to her office for a disciplinary issue that will likely end in dismissal, the best advice you can give the manager is to be curious. Don’t go in with a pre-set notion of what will occur, or about the events that you heard about from witnesses. Ask questions, give your employee a chance to explain, if he has valid reasons or is truly not guilty of the reported behaviour. Most times the employee will be embarrassed and not offer much resistance or defend themselves, but will recognize and appreciate that they are given the opportunity, and that they are treated with respect and decency.

To me, it was proper that Vincent be asked these questions by the media scrum point blank, neutrally, and be given an opportunity to speak on this for the record. They dutifully recorded his non-answers and let the unhinged fans like me make their own decisions.

The thing is, I was hoping that he’d have some better reasons to desert and join the Kempeitai. I remember Mark Langston telling reporters that he wanted to go to Southern California to help further his wife’s acting career. As an Expo fan I was bummed, but understood it, and didn’t hold it against him. If Vinny had said “My daughters go to an equestrian academy in Westchester, they hope to one day go to the Olympics,” I’d have been disappointed, but accepted it. Any likely reason would have worked.

“I’m good friends with a business partner who’s from Philly, and we have been going there summers and have a couple of investments, it was a good opportunity for us to live there and be closer to our businesses.”

“It’s a funny story, there’s definitely a Ryan Malone connection, he used to play in Pittsburgh but lived in that area and …”

Anything at all would have sufficed. But he had no reasons to offer other than he didn’t want to come here, not for the lowball offer he received from the Canadiens. So the reporters only asked the questions which needed to be asked, and if it seems like they only gave him enough rope, it’s because he was guilty, and he will be a condemned man in Montréal forever more.

Sorry about your nieces and nephews Vincent, they’re going to hear about it for you. Should have thunked about that before you took the thirty pieces of silver.

———————————————————————–… you know, because there’s no way hundreds of overcompetitive stars with massive egos would ever cheat to gain an edge with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake.–Bill Simmons

Makes me laugh all the trade talks on here,when MB has stated time and again he is building from within.If MB does any trading it will be for picks, unless one of the very best players in the league,comes on the trading block.

Trading Markov won’t happen,he will retire from the NHL and go to play in Russia,he has made it abundantly clear he will never play for another team in the NHL.

Hows this for a conspiracy theory,Laffs will win the cup,the goblin(Buttmen) has decided,that the Canadian fans need a cup,so it should go to a Canadian team,too many men on the ice, no penalty.Three games in and they win all three,alright you have to admit ,they are not a bad team,but there is no way they are top of the league good.
GO HABS GO

The Leafs have started well the last couple of years, then slowed down. But I think Habs fans this year are under-estimating them. Nonis made some smart moves last summer, even though they may result in cap problems later. And if Bernier turns out to be as good as he’s supposed to have the potential to be, they got a gem.

mksness…I am not basing anything about Eller on 2 fgames…I was one of the first people on here to say he could be a toip liner…even when he got no icetime. He reminded me of Pleks and has always had the skillset. I can comfortably say everything I did below and feel confident in it. Things could change but they won;t be skill based…he could get hurt, he could have off ice issues,etc….but I ahve see nearly every game Eller has ever played in te NHl and he was immediately a favourite of mine. I hae watched him away from the puck, with the pucka nd watched the growth…he is still growing as a player and will continue to do so. I would be comfortable in signing him for 4 or 5 years. Very comfortable…and NOT based on 2 games. I would have been ok if they had done it at the end of last season. HE is a cornerstone moving forward and even when he was “struggling” it was as a winger….and/opr with linemates anyone would struggle with. He is at worst right now as I stated…an Elite 3rd line centerman moiving forward IMO….and that is my worst case sceanrio He amy never be an offensive juggernaut but his versatility and ability to play virtually all roles ensures him of a steady career IMO.
Scored in bunches? most players do that…almost all in fact. There are only a handful of “consistent” point scorers in the NHL and they get consistent top linemates, consistent quaslity icetime, consistent quality pp time. I am not so sure Elelr has even proven he deserves pp time from an offensive perspective yet and his value may be more 5 on 5 adn pk/shutdown role a la Jordan Staal. Perhaps he has more offesnvie upside…but he is at elas tworth what I stated if utilized properly…if his usage is not adjusted accordingly I suggest his agent try and have him shopped …and he will get snagged up.

I was just killing time over at Capgeek.com and realized that the Canadiens haven’t placed Emelin, Murray or Dewiskie on IR. Is there some penalty to the team for doing so? If not, why wouldn’t you want to save the cap space? Especially since they seem to have Beaulieu and Thomas up, along with Bournival.

I am a little surprised about Beaulieu being put on a piedistal before he played at least one full season with the Habs. He didn’t look out of play but are we already declaring him as #2 D? What happened to Diaz?

Paul, its not just you. Your argument is a sound one. IF the Hab’s were a Simmons away from a Cup you might consider it. Beaulieu is a potential key piece to an eventual Cup run.
I love L to death and I’d never tell her this to her face but she’s wrong on this one.

Those are pretty solid numbers for a power forward…go check out other power foirward numbers and find me how many are better. Not many…those are really good numbers actually and better than I thought he was offensively…I didn’t realize he put up 28? that is crazy…how is he only signed for under 4 million? Clowe, Clarkson, Lucic,etc are all comparables and he is way underpaid for several years by those standards….he is worth slight overpay in trade with that considered it would appear.

Beaulieu has real issues with his defensive game.
That’s not ideal for a defenceman.
And he has the same issues he had when he entered Major Junior. That’s not great either.
His offensive skills are excellent, but Gaston Gingras had the same resume when he made the NHL. Gingras was a 1/2 point per game defencman but he was never reliable in his own zone, and therefore never a top 4 d-man.

The Gingras comparison is perhaps a good one. Talk about unbelievable raw talent, but completely lost in his defensive zone. I never watched Gingras play at the Junior level, so i have no idea if those problems were identifiable early on.

You are correct, that it is the defensive zone awareness that is the missing piece with Nathan. Sitting in the press box at present isn’t helping, but I understand why he is getting the nod as first callup.

Really hope Montreal stays the course and continues to develop the guys they have. DD aside – they have a lot of cap friendly contracts and their core is all young and positioned to get better every year.

I’d also like to see them resign Gionta if they can get the same deal they signed Briere for. Markov as well is they can sign him for 4 – 4.5. They are both still very good players even if they are not the superstars they once were.

——————————————————————–
Rule #76: No Excuses, Play Like a Champion!
@Hstands4Hockey

If Calgary and Edmonton continue to struggle wonder who goes first, Feaster or Eakins? I am guessing Burke will use Feaster as his first fall guy not the present coach Hartley. Edmonton will be interesting to watch, since it is a new coach, but also a new GM. They essentially advertised all summer that they were ready to start winning games. It is only 2 games into the season for them, but you have to wonder.

Burke will suck everything he can about the Flames org. from Feaster, then send him to scout the KHL with a home set up in Siberia…or Feaster could resign with dignity and a Ron Wilson freebie extension before he gets fired

MB has stated a few times that the way to build this team will be through the draft and patience. I still maintain this season he starts looking at trading away some veterans to make room for the prospects in the pipeline. But I don’t see him making a big splashy trade for a veteran forward. Perhaps next season, but I don’t see it happening this season.

Emelin is due to return, Murray is due to return, once these players have shown what they have to offer he will have a better idea where the next position needs to be shored up.

While it will drive some people crazy, we are in for a season with our present roster i think. Patience is required, with that we have to remember this is an entire new Mgmt and Coaching staff from 2 seasons ago, and while we have been patient for many years this new regime is only in Season 2.

Totally agree. 9 players will be without a deal at the end of the season. Let`s hope we can remove P.K. and Lars from those ones so let`s say 7…Lots of changes to be expected after olympic break i think , new veterans ,places for upcoming kids like Beaulieu and Bournival and who knows maybe an unexpected trade also like Moen or D.D. Cause hopefully more kids will be knocking on the door a year after that…. What we see now is what we get as you say and let`s hope for the best !

Now would be a REALLY bad time to talk extension with Lars. At some point his production will slow down and that’s when you start. Also, gotta get P.K.’s deal done cuz his contract will impact how much money is left for everyone else.

Lars is to become an RFA with Arbitration rights next summer.
Maybe we should just wait a little – like 20-30 games, to see where this is going?
While here’s believing that Lars has a great upside and Bobby Smith written all over him, we did sign a guy last year to a 4 year extension that had Henri Richard written all over him…

Henri Richard?….man that person needs to stop writing. Lars Eller is at worst an elite 3rd line center…that is his very worst case scenario. He is a shoe in average 2nd line center and a possible first liner. I say sign him now. This isn;t based on 2 games …this is based on last season where he earned his points without the luxury of pp minutes, he was the best palyer on t he team(up front) until he got injured…
There is enough evidence of his character and work ethic and I would do it. I was not a fan of the DD one myself btu it is a fair contract for the player…not really suited for the team and what was in the pipeline but fair value anyway.

really? look at his point distribution last year. he scored in bunches.

It’s 2 games people!!!! lets see how he fares against the better teams and give him a bigger sample size. Teams will be preparing for him now and will put better defensive match ups against him. All i’m saying is chill out before you call this guy a superstar.

For the Flyers to trade Simmonds (never going to happen anytime soon) they would need a player who brings the same or better skill set than Simmonds has.
Hmm..how about Tinordi and NB as starters. Simmonds is a beast and teams would be lining up to get him.

29 other teams wlll be knocking on the door
While not impossible, teams usually prefer ‘other conference’ trades so as not have the player come back and haunt them on a regular basis.
That mentioned, with the new scheduling, that may change

Re: Wayne Simmonds, would love to have him. He is exactly what our top 9 needs. However, I love Beaulieu as a prospect and soon to be #2 dman.

How is this for a nightmare scenario. Carlyle is not a big fan of Jake Gardnier, because of all that raw talent and skill lol, I could see the Flyers loving him. They need a skater and puck mover on D. He is all that and more. Adding Simmonds to the Leaf top 9 would be down right scary and would make me unhappy. I could see it happening though. Leafs would have to shed some salary first.

leafs have approx 63k in cap space left last time i heard. They have already sent down Lilles to the Marlies and no team wants to trade for Lilles..i can’t see them doing that deal..that being said we would be seriously pissed.

With Fraser now out for 3 weeks, Leafs have no spare Dmen available, they can’t call up Liles without shedding salary. They will not be looking for more forwards at the cost of a Dman right now. Or at least they shouldn’t be.

The only surprising thing about today’s firing is why it wasn’t a complete cleanup with Holmgren being shown the door at the same time. This team has cap problems, signed Lecavalier to way too long a deal, same with Streit, they’ve regressed, if possible, with the goaltending moves, and their defense is old and slow. And none of that is Laviolette’s fault and all Holmgren’s. It still astonishes me how this guy keeps his job.

Reminds me so much of what happened here but worse ! You lose your number one d-man and then the wheels of the wagon falls off the G.M….
He still believes Pronger will come back.
The Carter-Richards saga
Bryzgaloz shall i say more ?
Gets the Schenn brother who was overrated in Toronto.
Lets go Van Reimsdyk
Signs Streit who will not help the Flyers defense.
Buyout of Briere and signs another buyout player in Lecavalier.
Signs Gill who will play eventually

Need i say more ? Laviolette is a scapegoat. Holgren should have been the one to pay the price. At least here Gauthier made a few good moves wich helped us to start building back through the farm team but will the Flyers be able to or just try to buy victories ?

Left wrist, or forearm, judging by the hit and the tape job we saw him wearing in the second. Wrists can be really tricky, lots of small bones. Hope it’s just a jam. Haven’t heard, but I assume he’s making the trip.

I agree it’s hard to envision Diaz as a Flyer but they’ll need someone to replace Timonen, and preferably cheap. I actually think Diaz has top 4 in him. Too many people think the only way to be a to 4 Dman is if you’re a hulking nasty SOB. It’s good to have those guys too but players like Markov (pre injuries) and Lidstrom were easily among the league’s best and without a physical game at all. Not just offensively, but defensively too.

Yes, Gorges is 3.9mil per and I agree that’s a little expensive especially considering he had an off-year last year. That said, he’s known as a defensive beast and if he rebounds this season does have good value. The cap will rise next year, he’s still young, barely get’s injured, etc.

I like Coburn too but think he’s a little over-rated by many on HIO. With Philly having no cap space at all it makes any trades difficult. Not to mention, we already have a ton of Dman and a lot of D prospects too. We need to make room for the ones we want to keep and develop, and trade those who aren’t in the plans to teams who can give them a better chance.

With the new trading rules where one team can retain some salary, I think a viable option is out there. Simmonds would be really tough to get though. He’s young, very good, and on a really great contract. The only knock on his game currently is his defense.

Yes there is. I think it’s time to move Markov while we can still get something for him. This year is still a rebuilding year and MB is going to have to give up someone of value to get someone of value. The Sens for example had to give up a lot to get Ryan. So I think it’s time to market Markov and maybe someone like Bourke. It’s no use dreaming that the Pens will take DD in exchange for Crosby.

Ron, if you trade Markov who replaces his minutes? Granted he is no longer the Markov of seasons past but he’s arguably the 2nd or 3rd best dman on the squad. I think we need to be a little patient here unless you want to go the tank mode.

There are two ways the Habs can make a deal using a defenceman as a trading chip.

The first is, they have to get a defenceman back. Because if you trade Diaz, or Markov, or even Gorges, there is no replacement for them on the Habs right now.

The second is, they don’t get a defenceman back. This only works if the Habs are writing off the year and calling it a rebuild.

I don’t see that happening, so back to the first plam. To make it worthwhile, you have to get back a better defenceman than you are giving up. That’s the first problem: finding a stupid GM. The second problem is that Diaz and Markov are pending UFAs, which obviously lowers their trade value.

Some people are so eager to trade Diaz that they don’t care what comes back. This is called the “addition by subtraction” theory, and it is also used to advocate bencing DD or sending him to Hamilton or trading him for a 7th rounder.

Proponents of the “addition by subtraction” theory must still be repeating grade one math, because there is no such thing as addition by subtraction.

We don’t have enough good defencemen, and are therefore not in a position to deal them.

And about Diaz, he’s been fine so far this year, even if he’s being overused.

“If the puck stops, or if the player’s momentum stops, and particularly reverses, then there’s an issue,” Campbell said. “The problem is if you’re skating forward, you can pull the puck back, or stickhandle, and that will stop [the puck] at times, or a curl-and-drag sometimes will stop it. There is some confusion and misinterpretation.”

I hope you all understand how it works now, (unless you’re a fisherman from NS and know nothin from nothin).

I understand it as clearly as I understand hybrid-icing and I also understand that a punch in the mouth isn’t a head-shot.

I think your right about that, Sad thing is that typically the union votes no on most of these changes for bargaining position. It isn’t so much that they are against the change, but as is typical in Mgmt vs Union, neither side ever wants to give the other anything without something in return.

Simmonds is a beast. An agitator, enforcer, PITA, great skater/passer and skilled player all rolled into one. Exactly what our, and every other team wants and needs. If Beaulieu is the only player they would ask for, I would do it in a blink of an eye.

We have a habit of being attached to our prospects, and thinking they will be the next great thing, and maybe he will be.

Simmonds may never be a scoring leader, but after years of smurfdom, what a refreshing change it would be to have a beast up front, who is very difficult to play against. Beaulieu is still a question mark, but Simmonds at 25, is known for exactly what he is.

The Senators, not my favourite team, but you have to give them credit for taking those risks and ending up with some great players.

Beaulieu a question mark ? Give him a break ! You are just saying that because of off ice events but he hasn`t played in the NHL yet and he is a question mark ? I have been following him for a few years and he is the opposite of a question mark. Not a sure shot,not the real thing cause making the NHL is a big step but he definitely is within the best kids the habs have had in their farm system for years .

Elle, I agree that sometimes we overrate prospects but I currently think Beaulieu is our best player not in the NHL currently. I think we could get a higher return for a player like Beaulieu than Simmonds.

Simmonds is a useful player but I don’t think he makes us an instant contender. I also agree sometimes you need to take risks but the Sens went an got Bobby Ryan who isn’t really a risk. He is a big goal scorer and if Alfie didn’t leave that trade never happens.

Kooch, I get what you’re saying, but I do believe Simmonds moves the front end up several notches, in combination with what we already have.

Even before Ryan, Sens have been getting drool-worthy players, and not hesitating to trade players Habs’ would never dream of. So we stay with the aging vets out of loyalty (Markov), and then complain about early exits from the playoffs, and blame the goalie.

Again, I am not saying Beaulieu is not going to be good, I just have a higher regard for Simmonds.

L, I want to agree with you, but i also want to agree with Kooch. My fear is that we sometimes get to blurry eyed with how good our prospects look and often have been burned.

I do think Beualieu is indeed a special prospect with a real high ceiling for success. However, while I am sure Philly would love to get Nathan, they are in a win now mode and probably place more value on an NHL ready Dmen for the present, not the future. If indeed a Diaz or Gorges would help pry Simmonds from Philly, I would do that. Obviously not one of those Dmen alone would do it, a prospect like Pateryn or draft pick would have to go with them.

Of course now I find myself trade speculating, which I hate doing, as I have no freaking idea what I’m talking about.

L – You can’t trade a potential top 4 dman for a player of Simmon’s caliber. While I agree that Simmons would look great in a Hab uniform, Beaulieu should be close to being untouchable as anyone on this team. He has the potential to be everything Markov was. A top pair dman with an offensive upside.

It’s not all the coaches fault the team is not successful. They have 22 + millionaires some who don’t like you and they’re not gonna give it their all so the coach pays the price.
The Habs fired a coach who coached the Boston Bruins to a Stanley cup. It mostly has to do with what type of players you have on a team to be successful the coach is just a small part.
It won’t matter who’s coaching the Habs 5-years down the road. If they have the right players. They’ll have the same chance as any other team to win a cup. Players is the key. work hard, play tough but clean and they’ll be successful!!

G’morning all,
Lots of work to do today, so I’m wary of getting involved in conversations… but I’m going to do it anyway. Like the idiot I am.
Just don’t be offended if I don’t reply too quickly.

Today’s firing is a nice lesson for everyone who thinks that a Stanley Cup ring is a good basis upon which to judge a coach.
The idea that a coach having won a Stanley Cup makes him better than a coach that hasn’t is laughable. Demers says that he has a Stanley Cup ring because of Patrick Roy. Do you think that Roy says (or even thinks) that he has his because of Demers?

I can’t imagine that anyone thinks that Dan Bylsma, whose ‘acheivement’ of leading a team full of first-round picks to the Stanley Cup, makes him a better coach than Lindy Ruff, who made a very average Buffalo team consistently competitive and led them to numerous deep post-season runs.

I would love to see Philly or anyone for that matter take Markov off our hands. To retain him before July 1st, we would have to at least match his 5.75 mil contract, and he probably expects a minimum of 4 years. He’s just not worth it! And, he’s only going to decline with time.

Plus, Beaulieu will have to be given a chance next year.

This is our chance to get something for Markov instead of losing him for nothing, in a year when we honestly won’t be winning the cup. Hope MB has the stomach to make this trade! By mid-season, half of his cap hit will be off the books and teams may be able to afford it.

Nope, I’d like to see Markov retire with the Habs.
He’s given us tons, and often carried the entire team on his shoulders when nobody else was good enough to share the burden.

Defensemen get better as they get older, people just need to adjust their expectations. His play reading is better than ever, and his passing is as good as it ever was, it’s only his speed that is no longer present.

I know lots of fans pride themselves on their ability to see hockey as ‘just a business’ and players as ‘commodities’, but the fact is that they are people playing for and with other people, and elements such as loyalty and respect come into the equation.

I’m tired of the Habs trading away their past greats. Let Marky retire a Hab. Those sorts of gestures give an organization a reputation as being classy; Detroit could have got tons for Lidstrom, for instance.

I agree with this in theory. Markov has led the Habs through some pretty lean years and has been a consumate professional. I’d love to see him retire a Hab and pass his experience on to the prospects.

That said, he is clearly not the d-man he used to be and he would have to be willing to take a pay cut. There is no way he is still a $4M/year guy, and he would need to take something closer to $2M for it to be worth it for Montreal, especially with all the young guys coming through the system right now. If his pride and personal accounting don’t allow him to take less, then it might be best that another team to show him the money.

IF we would ever move Markov, the time is at the trade deadline.
Look back and see what Kaberle fetched for the Leafs when they moved him to Boston in 2011 – a 1st round pick – a 2nd round pick – and then prospect Center Joe Colborne

Next, why would the Flyers want Markov?
They don’t have a Cap Dollar left and Streit makes Markov redundant

Sorry 3rd gen…I think you have it wrong. right now Markov is our 2nd best dman. Maybe it shows we need someone inbetween PK and Markov. Been saying this team lacks a true #2 dman. But anyways, Markov is too important for this team. And Beaulieu can not provide NEXT SEASON what Markov would provide to this team NEXT SEASON.

With Diaz, Bouillon, Murray, Emelin also all UFAs, I hope and expect MTL to keep Emelin and Markov. Have Beaulieu replace Diaz’s role next year. Not Markov’s. Then we can actually have a better 2nd PP dmen pairing then what we are stuck with this year.

Markov…I’d give him 2 yr deal no problem at all. May even go 3 yrs if that’s what is needed.

I’m going to agree with Matty and say that Markov should retire a Hab and we should extend another contract to him.

I’m not sure why you think he would ask for or get 5.75mil again. He knows he got paid a ton of money while he was injured for basically two years, and is aware he’s not the same player he once was. Marky’s always been pretty reasonable and gave us a hometown discount on his previous contract.

What’s most important is that MB talk to Markov/his agent to see what he’s looking for. If it is unreasonable, then trade him for an asset. If it looks as though he’s willing to accept a reasonable deal, keep him and negotiate. It’s that simple.

Markov should remain a Hab unless the return is just too good to pass or if he signs a contract at less than 5.75M – he’s definitely not the skater he once was, and that is a rather significant impediment to him being able to pinch in, which he was good at.

Markov era is long over, and so are his best days. give him a title in the organization. still smart, but can’t skate, can’t get where he has to be to shoot, doesn’t pinch anymore, never did hit. the game has changed, and $5 mil + is a pretty carrot for a Lucic or Simmonds.

What if we could show that the Habs could get over the blue line, but our shots from the point were never getting through to the net? Well then the coach needs to talk to the point men, the guys shooting, to get the pucks through and he holds those players responsible.

Or what if we got our shots through and there were rebounds that we never got to? Then the coach would have to look at the players responsible for crashing the net for rebounds, NOT Markov, or Subban, in that example.

You see, just because you’re “on the ice” does not mean your specific role was not accomplished, and it does not mean that because Fillipula was on the ice that he was not doing HIS JOB in helping his team score goals.

Simply being on the ice, is not a reliable statistic. It’s not nearly enough information to draw the conclusions that you want to draw.

You should consider this and watch how each player is given specific tasks to accomplish. That’s how the coaches watch the game. That’s how players are evaluated. That’s why your NHL coaches are not listening to your “on the ice” stats.”>
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You make some good points, Eddie, but I think that you ( and Mike Dunboyne, ) are the ones missing the “big picture”. The simple truth is that last season Babcock played Filppula on the Powerplay unit for 111 minutes. using 1 minute as an average that equals 111 shifts that Filppula (and 4 teammates) were on with the man advantage. In all of these minutes, (or shifts) they only managed to score 4 power play goals. one PP goal every 28 shifts. then another 28 shifts with only one PP goal.than a third set of 28 shifts with only one PP goal. Do you think it may be time to try someone else before the next 28 shifts?
The Redwings had a total of 299 minutes, or shifts) on the PowerPlay
during which time they scored a total of 36 PP goals. In other words, OVERALL the team scored a powerplay goal once every 8.3 shifts.

If we remove Filppula’s PP shifts from the totals, the Redwings scored a total 32 powerplay goals in 188 shifts. this equates to one powerplay goal every 5.875 shifts. so to summarise:

overall – one PP goal every 8,3 shifts.
With Filppula on the ice : one PP goal every 28 shifts
With Filppula on the bench; one PP goal every 5.875 shifts.

Now, you can talk about zone entries and rushing the net, and all sorts of things that go into a successful powerplay, but you CANNOT possibly come up with any logical or sensible argument that would justify putting Filppula on the powerplay in the playoffs after these results in the regular season.
Filppula played 37% (111 of 299) of the total PP time and while he was ice the team scored 11% of their total PP goals 4 of 36)

The PRIMARY objective of a powerplay unit is to score goals. The redwings PP unit does NOT score goals when Filppula is on the ice and they DO score goals when he is not on the ice.

Would you argue that a player that has 4 base hits in his last 111 at bats deserves to keep his spot in the everyday lineup because he takes good swings at the ball?

To make the point clearer lets look at another “weak link” one the RedWings PP, Daniel Cleary. Cleary played 120 minutes (40% – 120 /299) of the total PP time and the RedWings scored 11 (30 %– 11/36))goals while Cleary was on the PP unit. His averagaes work pout to one goal every 11 minutes, not very good, but not a total bust like Filppula. It is understandable that the first wave with Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Franzen ( all averaging one PP goal approximately every 6 minutes) would show better results than the second wave.

The “second” line pp forwards included:Brunner, Cleary, Nyquist and Filppula.
With Brunner on the PP the redwings scored a goal every 6.6 minutes
With Cleary on the PP the redwings scored a goal every 10.9 mins.
With Nyquist on the PP the redwings scored a goal every 11.8 mins.
With Filppula on the PP the redwings scored a goal every 28 mins.

Do you still stand by your argument that Filppula “deserves” to be on the PP, and That Babcock is seeing something about his contribution to the PP that the numbers don’t show?

Dunboyne Mike wrote that I am claiming that I could get more goals out of the Redwings lineup than Babcock, and of course I am making no such claim. The claim that I am making is that BABCOCK could have gotten more goals out of his lineup had he taken notice of the data and utilized his personnel more effectively.

There is a reason that companies evaluate the performance of their employees and invest into analytics to help them make the right decisions to improve the overall performance. For example a distributor might find that one of his warehouse employees picks only 8 orders per hour while the average of all the others is 12 orders picked per hour. When it comes to packing however that same employee may be significantly faster and makes less mistakes than the others. The logical move would be to have that employee be “packing” specialist and let the faster pickers do more of the picking.

Hockey is no different. Certain players produce better than others in different situations. In my opinion every coach would be well served if they spent some time between games analyzing the data that reflects their players strengths and weaknesses. In the case of the RedWings last season, specifically when it came to Filppula’s (lack of) productivity on the PP, it is quite apparent that Babcock did not.

Sometimes I think the mods are reading my posts from their bible camp. Yeah,I know I get carried away and use bad words when I get into the sauce but come on guys! It’s just the liquor talking, lighten up.

Frontenac, drinking and using bad words? Impossible. The man who runs 10 miles a day with 2 kegs of beer on his shoulders, and after he reaches 5 miles , downs the kegs and sprints back to one of his favorite watering holes for some scotch. He and his liver are Idols for us all to follow.

Some posters have suggested calling Philly to see who’s on the trading block and I sincerely hope MB is doing that right now. Another poster mentioned Simmonds and I would love to see him in a Habs jersey (although he is exactly the type of player the Flyers love and it’s doubtful they would trade him without asking for one hell of a return).

The Habs and Flyers could actually make good trading partners though. PHI needs D (both puck movers and stay-at-home types) and cap space, and the Habs have lots of extra D kicking around. We’re somewhat tight on cap space but we do have some flexibility.

Diaz could be a really good option for them. He’s very inexpensive and gives them a puck mover. Timonen ain’t getting any younger and Streit is more of a shooter than a QB.

FYI, I actually like Diaz and think he’s under-valued by many. I’m not part of the “Trade Diaz!” camp. To me, his smaller size is more of a problem on the Habs that it would be on the Flyers, and while we would miss him this year, I think Beaulieu is close enough for next year. Emelin also has some puck-moving skills.

If they’re looking for defensive Dmen then I would suggest Gorges. Again, I like Josh and love his willingness to block shots, but we gave him too much money.

Philly likes their physical Dman and I would trade them Murray, but he’s injured so we can’t at the moment. He would also give them cap flexibility cuz he’s on a cheap contract.

If they were looking for good D prospects, then I would trade them Ellis or Pateryn depending on the return. I wouldn’t trade Tinordi or NB though.

Tim Wharnsby’s Monday Musings concludes with his rating of the Canadian Olympic goaltender candidates. He has Price in fourth, behind Fleury(!), Smith, and Luongo. He thinks Price’s performance against the Leafs was horrendous. I guess he didn’t see any of Price’s brilliant saves that kept the Habs in the game.

Just a quick reminder lest we forget. When Eller first came over here he was a fantastic prospect at the center position. It was Jacques Martin who decided he should move Eller to the wing where the young player was never comfortable.

I have been around the game for a few years and I can tell you that for every true center I see moved to the wing successfully, there are probably 4 or 5 who do not make the position change work at all.

It was only when Eller began playing center that his game actually started to improve. He was spinning his wheels and being judged as a very average winger.

good call… JM had 0 trust in eller at center (although oodles of it for gomez).
he also switched Spacek to his off side, and for a guy playing the game 30+ year on one side, the switch did not come easy. Not to mention it was hard for him to accept passes on his off hand.
really dumb use of your assets imo

I will never forget Martin saying in a press conference in ref to Eller…”I do not know what type of player I have in him.” I was like, eh? It’s his 2nd season with us and you still haven’t figured out what type of player he is? So you are going to figure it out by playing him in a position he has stated he’s not comfortable with or play him on 4th line?

At least MT is playing his young players in the proper place…but just giving them “protected minutes”. I mean I’d rather see Gallagher on an offensive role with 12 min a game, then on the wing on the 4th line with goons. You should know what type of player you have and work at developing in that role.

Martin and Gauthier should have put Eller in AHL that year as a top center instead of not knowing what they had and playing him in the 4th line.

Some comments on this site are being deleted by a small group of individuals. We don’t know who they are, nor how they arrive at their arbitrary decisions.

I believe that no comment should be deleted unless it places the site and the Gazette in a potentially liable position (say if someone makes libelous allegations about a player or ex GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs).

Given that this site was founded by journalists (and even if it wasn’t), the existence of secret and unaccountable censorship is intolerable. A justification should be given for each redacted comment.

Saw the Laviolette firing a mile away. The team has scored exactly one even-strength goal in three games. Yet they have tons of offensive talent – remember that wild playoff series a couple of years ago when they were beating the Penguins by scores like 8-3? Of course, some of that had to do with Fleury’s atrocious performance, but still…

All the same, a lot of the Flyers’ problems are on Holmgren. The defence is a mess; almost none of their Dmen can move the puck, so the offence has a hard time getting going. I used to think Holmgren was a good GM, but the last few years have been disastrous. The blockbuster deals he made a few years ago have not so far yielded much for the Flyers (although the Kings are pretty happy…), and his perennial failure to solve the goaltending problem landed them with the horrendous Bryzgalov contract, which they’ll be paying for the next six or seven years, while their erstwhile backup goaltender was winning the Vezina in Columbus. On top of that, I think four years is too long for Lecavalier at his age and with the injury problems he’s had. The new coach inherits a mess.

and unfortunately he also gave away JVR to the Leafs for Scheen. Again, I don’t get stay at home dmen being drafted so high. It was an error by the Leafs, yet it fetched them the 3rd overall pick in a trade. They got a young, big, offensive player for a stay at home dman who wasnt’ doing too good. Great trade by Burkie. JVR, with Kessel as his winger, will score 25+ goals consistently for the leafs. He like Eller is still developing, but he’s about ready to settle into his role too.

Love seeing Eller get better and better! Fans should enjoy and celebrate his progress but not put too many extra expectations on him! Just sit back and enjoy the progress he and his line mates have made! They have brought fun back to watching the Habs games! GHG!

The reason he was fired!? So the GM might keep his job for a little while longer!
Just look at the moves made by this Philly GM. He has pulled a Hab’s Grundman in devastating his once solid line up and prospects.
No way Philly makes the play offs this year!

I’m thinking Snyder has been the problem in Philly. He allows his “hockey people” to spend willy-nilly without accountability. Clark should be long gone from making team decisions along with Holmgren over there. but, then again, the longer Philly has problems, the more I smile. Wonder why that is?
Boston should have such problems.

Jamie!
You have to have a cool one at Hurley’s Irish Pub on Crescent St. Go to the Hall of Fame at the Bell Center, and if your single, you could meet up with Roxanne at the corner of St. Cathrine and St. Laurence blvd.

Absolutely correct Kooch. But as you know, sh*t runs downhill and the coach is below the GM. Coaches almost always get fired before GM’s do historically speaking, and if ownership was behind the decision then it’s also a warning-shot to their GM that he’s next if things don’t improve.

Amazing, always intrigued by a team whom fires their coach so early into a season. In order to make such a decision, one would have to believe a 3 game losing streak is not the biggest factor. So why not change the coach in the offseason in order to give the new coach a training camp etc….

Another panic move in Philadelphia. Philly should have hired Torterella in the off season, he would have been a perfect fit. Or at least from an entertainment perspective.

Wow, just read UCE’s rant on Vinny.
Well-written as usual, but quite over the top.
It’s really a non-issue that Vinny chose to go elsewhere, but for some reason some people are incensed that he made a decision about HIS career (not yours) that took him somewhere other than Montreal.
So what? If he were a Hab people would be bitching about his contract, his production, and about his age.

Yes, it would be nice to have that kind of player on the Habs, but he would not have made us a contender and he’d leave his contract by the time our window was truly opening. He would have been a good guy to teach our young players, but they will learn and come to, like Eller has so far.

And are we really speculating on whether his reasons are false or 100% honest? Vinny has no obligation, moral or otherwise, to disclose his personal and career decisions to a rabid media that would run a smear campaign if he ever said something negative about Montreal. I love the Habs, the city, and the province, but the media is freaking nuts and will make a mountain out of a molehill about the dumbest things, in this case those things being why a local kid did not want to play for the home team.

Really folks, who gives a rat’s ass, it’s his career. Vinny is a good player but if his heart was not 100% into it then there is no use having on the team, you’d have a player that is under-performing, who is supposedly now accountable to the rabid media and who realizes he bit off more than he could chew. Who cares if he prefers a more low key market? That’s his prerogative. Getting angry at athletes for making their choices on where to play is pretty damn stupid, it’s one of those first world problems that bother us more than some things of more importance that do not strike a chord.

Really, move on, Vinny made his choice, but guess what? There are many good centres out there, two of which are on our team and many others who can come play here. Hell, Briere is a good player that will help us out as well and at a better contract. Would you all be angry if he had signed with the Bruins or the Rangers? They are just hockey players making a choice on where they and their families have to relocate to for x mount of years, it’s a big deal for them and they are not wrong or at fault, nor do they owe you any explanation for their choices, it’s their life, plain and simple.

Who cares? Vinny doesn’t owe anybody an explanation. Why might he lie about this? There is a rhetorical goal in being honest about something like this and it might de bunch everyone’s panties to think about it.

I’m very much in agreement with those of you who are opposed to both the shootout and the spin-o-rama. I too would prefer a 3on3 if the 4on4 doesn’t produce a winner, or would just rather go back to tie games.

1) The outcome of a hockey GAME shouldn’t be determined by a skills competition. It’s very much akin to the penalty kicks in tie soccer games, a free-throw comp. in basketball, a field goal comp. in football, or a homerun contest in baseball.

2) It’s ludicrous and a total sham that some games are worth 3 points while others are worth 2. That doesn’t even make sense. Completely illogical.

3) If players can get penalized during a game for goaltender interference by snowing the goalie, wouldn’t the same be true of the spin-o-rama move considering it will happen every single time it’s attempted?

The shoot out is good business.
The winner gets 2 points, they loser still picks up 1 point.
That keeps everything nice and tight, and with the exception of 2-3 teams in each Conference, it’s Playoff Fever until April.
And what does Playoff Fever bring?
Big gate$ for team$ that have no busine$$ being there.

And don’t forget the American fan take of ties:
“It’s like Kissing your sister”

This excerpt from a Sports Illustrated article tells the tale.

” Nobody says that anymore. You’re either beat, or doing the beating — no Mr. In-Between. College football changed the rules in 1996, so two teams keep playing until somebody wins. The NFL is still a little wimpy. There have been two NFL ties in the 21st century — two too many, in the minds of good red-blooded Americans like me.

Ice hockey was tie city. I blame that on the Canadians, who are so nice. But now, in hockey, we got shootouts. That’s the all-American way. There hasn’t been a tie in the NHL since April 4, 2004. And there never will be another.”

I don’t remember any complaints about tie games back in the 60″s,70″s, 80″s. So, what changed to require a shoot out? Gimmick to sell the game in sunbelt like that electronic puck crap? Why not go full soccer and have the guys exchange their stinky jerseys at the end of the game?

I think they should change the shoot out. If overtime doesn’t change anything. Each team goes 5 on 4 for 2-minutes starting with the visiting team. at least this would be more of a team effort if they don’t score each team gets a point. Game over.

I’d prefer a 20 minute sudden death overtime if there’s a tie after regulation.Winner takes two points loser gets nada.If it’s still tied after the extra 20,one point for each team. Players would get full statistical credit for any points scored in overtime.

TV revenues are far more important to the league now than they were back in the day Front. I suspect that the league wants to sell the sizzle of OT/Shootout to the networks to help draw bigger numbers.

Like all professional leagues, money is the ultimate league decision maker.

It’s interesting how sports works out sometimes and how the minute differences of chance and inches – good luck and bad luck, can change the perspective of things.
Then again, it has been often said you make your own luck….

Case in point: Daniel Briere.

While many did not like his signing, it’s hard to believe he is being thrown under the bus after only 2 games..

New city-New team-New Coach/Management-New system, and especially New linemates.

Here’s not knowing what expectations were/are about Briere, yet he will never dominate a game, and will go long periods being invisible and then BOOM – a sniper goal, or terrific setup pass that leads to a goal.

So far this year, Briere has set up a certain line mate with at least 2 glorious opportunities that should have been goals.
Had that line mate scored, we would be talking about the ‘point per game’ Briere instead of the panicked dud.

Instead, and here’s where the game of inches and luck come in, Briere gets dumped on almost mercilessly.

Not knowing how Coach MT will move forward concerning Briere’s linemates, detractors should give him at least 15-20 games to see what he can do for the Habs.
2 games appears to be an awful small body of work.

Briere should be scoring, not acting as a setup man for guys who can’t score. I’m not gonna toss him under a bus but so far his work on the PP, where his role is to shine, has been underwhelming. Granted, Paxioretty is the player who carries that line, so, I’m all for reserving judgment. But the list of excuses you mention doesn’t fly with me. A veteran free agent shouldn’t get terrible amounts of slack.

Yes he should. New team, new system, new linemates. Not only that but he may not even have chemistry with DD and Pacioretty, perhaps he is being held back because he’d be better with Plekanec and Bourque, how do you know what he should be doing and at what pace?

He has been solid thus far and if he looked underwhelming on the PP then it is because our PP has been underwhelming as a whole, with the exception of PK and Markov, it has been lacklustre because of the players down low. Briere will find his groove and there is all the reason to give him time to do so.

I don’t mean to be a D*ck here but if the argument that Briere has had two nice passes in two games meaning he is good is not a very good argument. How about the three bad penalties in two games? Players make good passes all the time but that is the problem when you have two playmakers playing together and no finisher.

I went to the the Sens/Sabres game on Friday night – which for a game with 1 goal and no fights was just excellent.

I must admit, I was blown away by Erik Karlsson’s skating – it’s a whole other level seeing it up close in person. There were several times where he was way behind the play and just skated back and knocked the puck away effortlessly. Sure enough after talking about how great he is all night (much to the displeasure of all the Sabres fans around us) he scores the GWG.

I must also say the First Niagara Centre is a great place to watch the game. Seats are cheap to non-Leaf games (Platinum Seating for $70) and easy to get even on the day of. Stadium is 10min drive from the border and the fans are actually pretty nice unless the Habs or Leafs are in town (when they become a it more hostile at the 60/40 crowd).

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Rule #76: No Excuses, Play Like a Champion!
@Hstands4Hockey

Only a few guys come along every 10 years or so that can actually control the tempo of a game – either slow it down or speed it up, and know when to do it.
Karlsson is one of those, an you surely saw that up close.

Doug Harvey was really the first, then Bobby Orr took it to another level.

Some guys were close such as Ray Bourque, Denis Potvin, Brad Park, Paul Coffey, Niklas Lindstrom, and even the Habs own Larry Robinson.
Perhaps one day Subban will learn that, yet here’s not knowing if that is something that can be taught or learned, or is it just supreme hockey sense and instinct.